Worth

by A. LaFaye


~Summary~

When this book begins, in Nebraska, a bolt of lightning strikes Nathaniel James Peale, or Nate, in the leg. The bolt absolutely crushes his leg, and the doctor doesn't think he will ever walk again. Since he cannot work in the fields with his leg, Pa, Nathaniel's dad, adopts an orphan from New York City. His name is John Worth, or Worth. Ma really doesn't think having and orphan help Pa is a good idea, and completely detests this idea. Since she doesn’t really have much input in this whole adoption thing, Worth stays. Worth works all day in the fields, so he cannot fulfill his dream of getting an education. On the other hand, Nate is able to now go to school, and envies Worth because Worth gets to work in the fields all day. While Nate is at school, he meets a girl named Anemone from a Greek family, and they begin to become friends. One day, Anemone lends Nate a book on Greek Mythology, and Nate falls in love with all of the stories. He reads stories from it every night, and Worth listens in on his reading of the stories. It turns out that they both enjoy the subject that is Greek Mythology. Later on in the story, fences are cut, and cattle rampage through different yards and land, and destroy the crops. One night, the fence cutter strikes at the Peale's house, and John and Nate are left to catch the cutter. Will they catch him or her before they strike again? Who is the infamous fence cutter? Read Worth by A. LaFaye to find out.



~Rating and Review~




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I would rate Worth an 8.0 because it had a good amount of interesting parts to it, but it was sort of slow paced until about half way through. Even though it was sort of slow paced, it had a good, suspenseful ending that I would not have guessed would have happened. I I liked this book, and I am sure many other people do, too. It was in the running for the Virginia Young Reader's Choice in 2007.



~Major Themes~


1. Friendship- Friendship is a theme in this book because John and Nate have to work together to try to catch the fence cutter.

2. Teamwork- Teamwork is a theme in this book because Pa and John have to work together to keep the farm and crop alive and healthy..



~New Book Cover~



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This is my book cover which shows Nate on his bed trying to tinker with the old clock that his mom gave him. Also, the book of Greek mythology is at the other side of the bed. One window has lightning striking near the barn in the back yard. The other window shows John and Pa working in the fields.





















~Real Book Cover~


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~Links~

  • Click to go to the A. LaFaye website - I linked to this site because it tells about the author of Worth.
  • Click to go to a review of Worth - I linked to this site because it tells about Worth.
  • Click to learn about lightning - I linked to this site because it tells about lightning which is what was a big part of the book. It changed Nate's life forever.



~About the Author~


A. stands for Alexandra in A. LaFaye. She teaches at California State University during the school year, and teaches at a college in Roanoke, Virginia. Alexandra have lived in many different cities and states around the U.S.A. She was born in Wisconsin, and has written many books for kids our age.

Sources from http://alafaye.com/about.html



By Evan